Door check



g- 1959 E. J. PICKERELL 2,897,534

DOOR CHECK, Filed Feb. 17, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l lrnesi' r]: F a'clrere ll INVENTOR ATTORNEYS DOOR- CHECK Ernest J. Picker-ell, Oskaloosa, Iowa Application February 17', 1956, Serial No. 566,206

2 Claims. (Cl. 16-70) This invention relates to a door opening and closing means;

An object of this invention is to provide an improved door check which is adaptedto cushion the closing of the door and also to provide means whereby the door may belocked in open position.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved door check embodying a pair of pivotally connected together links with a dashpot means connected to the pivotal'interconnection of the links for cushioning the closing movement of the door.

A further object of this invention is to provide a door check which is. of relatively simple construction and will provide a means whereby the door may be held in a selected open position.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appearas the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts, hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changes may bemade in theconstruction and arrangement of parts without departingfrom the spirit of the invention as claimed.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a door check installed on an outer door. and constructed according, to. an embodirnentof' this invention, the outer door being omitted in this view.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. l-.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the door in open position.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section showing: the cylinder embodied in this invention.

Fig. 5- is. a fragmentary longitudinal section on; an enlarged' scale through the cylinder.

Fig. 6 is a detail end elevation of the cylinder and mounting bracket.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the inner end of the cylinder and associated header mounting bracket.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2, of the piston rod and one of the links with the locking member installed thereon.

Referring to the drawings the numeral 10 designates generally a door which is hingedly mounted as at 11, in a door opening 13. The door 10 is herein shown as being an outer one of a pair of doors with the inner door 12 hinged as at 14, in an inner opening 15.

In order to provide a means whereby the door 10 may be either held in an open position or the closing of the door may be cushioned, I have provided a pair of links 16 and 17 which are pivotally connected together as at 18. The link 16 is an inner link and is pivotally mounted on a base plate 22 on which is also pivotally supported the base plate of a bracket assembly generally indicated at 20. A plate 19 constitutes a horizontal flange on the upper side of bracket assembly 20, which is pivotal- Patented Aug. 4, 1959 1y secured by means. of a bolt 21 to base plate 22 and the plate 22 is secured by fastening means 23 to the lower face of the header or lintel 24 of the door frame construction. The link 17 is the outer link and the outer end of link 17 is pivotally secured on a pivot 25 ex.-- tending through an angle bracket 26 which is fixed to the inner side of the door 10.. The door 10 is automatically moved to a closed position by means of a springpressed plunger 27 which is slidably disposed in a. cylinder 28. The plunger or piston 27 has fixed thereto. a plunger rod 29 which extends. through a head 30 threaded into the outer end of cylinder 28 and head 30 has threaded thereinto a. gland 31 through which the rod 29 slides. The outer end of rod 29 is pivotally mounted on pivot 18. The inner end of cylinder 28 is secured on a, cylinder head 32a formed integrally on a,- Iight-angle arm 32 of bracket 20.. Piston or plunger. 27 is constantly urged inwardly or rearwardly by means of a spring 33'which is interposed bet-weenpiston 27 and outer head 30. Pistonv 2T7. is formed. ofv a disc-shaped. plate 34 which is secured. to the inner end of rod 29 and a cup-shaped Washer 35 is. formed of flexible material and secured on rod 29 by means of a nut 36 having a threaded stud 37. The stud 37 is threaded on the rod 29 and. is. also. threaded into the piston 34. Rod.29 at the. inner end. thereof is. formed with a longitudinal bore. 38 which through a. lateral passage 39 communicatcs with the inside of. the. cylinder 28. between plunger 27 and head 30. An. air relief member 40 comprising a vented screw is adjustably mounted. in a threaded boss. 40a opening. into the outer end portion of cylinder 28 so that air between plungerv 27 and head 30 may beexhausted when. plunger; 27. ismoved outwardly. The screw 40 is provided with a.relatively minute-longitudinal 1y extendingbore orv perforation forming an air. passage. At the time air is partially exhausted from cylinder 28 on the outward movementof plunger 27 air is also exhausted' through the inner end. of rod 29- by movement of a ball check valve.41 oft-valve seat. 42 which is formed; at the inner, end of. rod 29. and alsoincludesanangularly disposed plate 4.3,. which is formed as a part'of a cage 41a for containing the. ball. check 41.. As best shown in Fig. 5; cage 41a includes a horizontal bottom wall 43av and vertical side walls- 435. formed. integrally with nut.36,' plate '43 comprising the rear wall of the cage, andbeing integral with walls 43a and. 4317.. A resilintfiapper 44 isfixed at the nut 36fand. projects .rearwardly and normal.- ly engages the: rear free. end. of plate. 43- Whichforms-a closure for cage 412; to. retain the: ball 41. in operative position within the cage for engagement against the seat 42. The bracket member 32 which is formed as a rear cylinder head has threaded thereinto an adjustable air vent 45 comprised of a vented screw engaging in a threaded bore in head 32a which permits air to exhaust or enter the rear end of cylinder 28. The construction of air vent 45 is similar to that of air vent 4G. Bracket member 20 is adapted to be swung about pivot member 21 under the action of a spring-pressed rod '46. Rod 46 extends loosely through a lug 47 projecting downwardly from plate 22 and rod 46 loosely and slidably engages in a selected opening 48 in vertical leg 32 of bracket 20. A spring 49 engages about rod 46 and bears at its inner end against the outer side of bracket member 32. A spring tensioning nut 50 is threaded on rod 46 and bears against outer end of spring 49, and a nut 50a threaded on the other end of rod 46 abuts the outer face of lug 47.

In order to provide a means whereby the links 16 and 17 will be held against movement to an aligned position, a stop pin 51 is secured to link 16. Pin 51 has a bent portion extending downwardly from the end secured in link 16 and rearwardly through the space between links 16 and 17, and downwardly behind link 17 (see Fig. l) to permit link 17 to move into a position overlying link 16 as shown in Fig. l, in the closed position of the door. Pin 51 is engaged by plunger rod 29 and also by the rearwardly projecting end of link 17 at the open position of door .as shown in Fig. 3. The door 31 may be locked in an open position by means of U- shaped locking member 52 which is adapted to engage through registering holes 53 and 54 which are formed in the link 17 and plunger rod 29, respectively. The U- shaped locking member 53 has a short leg 55 which may be extended through the registering openings 53 and 54 and the other outer long leg 56 forms a handle by means of which the locking member 52 may be inserted or removed from the registering openings 53 and 54.

The degree of opening which may be obtained in the door 10 is conditioned upon the relative position of bracket member 26 with respect to the hinge 11. In other words, the positioning of the bracket member 26 closer to hinge 11 will permit the door 10 to move outwardly to a greater angle than is shown in Fig. 3. In addition the opening of the door 10 is also regulated by the position of the base plate 22 with respect to the header 24. In addition the angular position of the door may also be regulated by disposing the pivot member 21 for the bracket in a selected one of a pair of apertures 57 in the base of bracket 20.

In the use and operation of this device the plate 22 is secured to the lower face of the header 24 of the door frame at a point adjacent the free edge of the door 10. Bracket 26 is secured to the inner side of the door 10 and closer adjustment as to the angle of opening of door 10 may be provided by adjusting the flange 19 on pivot 21 through a selected pivot opening 57. When door 10 is moved to an open position to its fullest extent, links 16 and 17 will be disposed at an obtuse angle with respect to each other upon engagement of link 17 on stop pin 51. When door 10 has been released spring 33 will move plunger 27 inwardly with air entering cylinder 28 through vent and air in the rear of said cylinder 28 being exhausted through vent 45. When the door is moved toward closed position, air on the side of piston 27 toward head 32a is compressed by the piston 27, escaping slowly through vent 45, the flap 44 and valve 41 serving to prevent air returning to the far side of piston 27 as spring 33 biases the plunger 27 inwardly. Simultaneously spring biased rod 46 tends to rotate bracket assembly 20 and its associated cylinder 28 into the closed position as seen in Figure 2.

What is claimed is:

1. A door check comprising a pair of pivotally interconnected links, means pivotally securing one of said links to a door hinged in a frame, means pivotally securing the other of said links to the door frame, an elongated cylinder, means pivotally securing one end of said cylinder to the door frame, said last-named means including an L-shaped bracket adapted to be secured to said cylinder, a base plate adapted to be secured to the door frame, means pivotally securing one side of said bracket to the base plate, a right angular lug carried by said base plate, a bar loosely extending through said lug and said L- shaped bracket, a spring about said bar, and means tensioning said spring, a plunger slidable in said cylinder, a plunger rod fixed at one end of said plunger and secured at the opposite end thereof to the pivotal connection between said links, a spring in said cylinder about said rod constantly urging said plunger rearwardly, air vents in said cylinder adjacent the opposite ends thereof, a ball check valve in said plunger permitting free passage of air from one end of said cylinder to the other upon opening of the door but restricting said passage upon closing of the door, and a stop carried by one of said links limiting the angular displacement of said links one relative to the other.

2. A door check comprising a pair of pivotally interconnected links, means pivotally securing one of said links to a door hinged in a frame, means pivotally securing the other of said links to the door frame, an elongated cylinder, means pivotally securing one end of said cylinder to the door frame, a plunger slidable in said cylinder, a plunger rod fixed at one end to said plunger and secured at the opposite end thereof to the pivotal connection between said links, a spring in said cylinder about said rod constantly urging said plunger rearwardly, air vents in said cylinder adjacent the opposite ends thereof, a ball check valve in said plunger permitting free passage of air from one end of said cylinder to the other upon opening of the door, but restricting such passage upon closing of the door, a stop carried by one of said links limiting the angular displacement of said links relative to one another, the inner face of said plunger having a ball cage including an internal valve seat from which said ball check valve is displaced during opening of the door, said cage having a threaded stud engaging in a threaded aperture in said plunger, a nut integral with said stud and said cage, and a one way flat valve on the top of said cage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 251,790 Norton Ian. 3, 1882' 851,640 Bardsley et al Apr. 30, 1907 893,185 Mick July 14, 1908 1,124,941 Norton Ian. 12, 1915 1,140,457 Henry May 25, 1915 1,595,247 Rawlings Aug. 10, 1926 2,152,814 Morgen Apr. 4, 1,939 

